A Note on Non-parallelism of Pretest and Posttest Measures in Assessing Change

In the study of differences, change, or growth, pretest and posttest measures often cannot be considered to be “parallel” in the usual test-theory sense. Empirical data supporting this conclusion is presented. But under this condition of non-parallelism of pretest and posttest measures, it is possible for change scores to be more reliable and more valid than ordinarily believed by most psychometricians.     

On the perennial argument about grading “on the curve” in college courses

If letter grades assigned in a course are determined by the percent of objective test items answered correctly, then under various assumptions about the mean and standard deviation of normally distributed test scores, the distribution of the percent of students receiving each letter grade is highly anomalous. Conversely, if one insists that letter grades be “reasonably” distributed and at the same time determined by a typical percentage scheme, then allowed test parameters are severely constrained and not the ones which psychometricians consider most defensible. One recourse available to an instructor who does not wish to grade “on the curve” is to adjust the test parameters to dubious values by manipulation of item difficulty so that a desired grade distribution based on percentages is achieved. This informal adjustment procedure constitutes an indirect and inefficient method of employing test norms — in effect, grading “on the curve.”     

The Short-Term Effects of a Computer-Based Pregnancy,STD, and HIV Prevention Program

A computer- and Internet-based intervention was designed to influence several variables related to the prevention of pregnancy, STDs, and HIV in rural adolescents. Three-hundred and thirty-eight tenth-graders enrolled in two rural public high schools participated in this field experiment. Results indicate that students in the experimental school had greater knowledge, greater condom negotiation efficacy, greater situational efficacy, and more favorable attitudes toward waiting to have sex than students in the control school. In tandem, the results suggest that computer-based programs may be a cost-effective and easily replicable means of providing teens with basic information and skills necessary to prevent pregnancy, STDs, and HIV.     

Understanding How Families Use Magnifiers During Nature Center Walks

This analysis uses a sociocultural learning theory and parent–child interaction framework to understand families’ interactions with one type of scientific tool, the magnifier, during nature walks offered by a nature center. Families were video recorded to observe how they organized their activities where they used magnifiers to explore in the outdoors. Findings include that families used magnifiers for scientific inquiry as well as for playful exploration. Using the concept of guided facilitation where families develop roles to support their joint endeavor, three roles to support family thinking were found to be: (a) tool suggester, (b) teacher, and (c) exploration ender. Some families struggled to use magnifiers and often, parents and older siblings provided support for younger children in using magnifying lenses. Implications to informal science learning theory are drawn and suggestions for future family learning research are offered: (a) inclusion of sociocultural and situated perspectives as theories to study informal learning in outdoor spaces, (b) further study on the role of siblings in family interactions, (c) design-based research is needed to encourage family role-taking when engaging in science practices, and (d) new conceptualizations on how to design informal programs that support science learning while leaving space for visitors’ personal agendas and interests that can guide the families’ activities.     

The Reliability of Difference Scores in Populations and Samples

This study was an investigation of the relation between the reliability of difference scores, considered as a parameter characterizing a population of examinees, and the reliability estimates obtained from random samples from the population. The parameters in familiar equations for the reliability of difference scores were redefined in such a way that determinants of reliability in both populations and samples become more transparent. Computer simulation was used to find sample values and to plot frequency distributions of various correlations and variance ratios relevant to the reliability of differences. The shape of frequency distributions resulting from the simulations and the means and standard deviations of these distributions reveal the extent to which reliability estimates based on sample data can be expected to meaningfully represent population reliability.     

Integrating service learning and technical communication: Benefits and challenges

Our ethnographic study of a service‐learning class revealed some students benefited in developing civic values, improving academic learning, and accepting responsibility for their own education. Other students struggled to see the connection between technical communication and service learning, felt frustrated with nonacademic writing, and experienced team conflict. We must redefine both technical communication and service learning, help students make the transition to the workplace, and educate community organizations about the role of technical communicators.     

Chapter 11 Personality

A regression grouping technique is described for reducing the number of predictor variables while retaining predictive information. The data used for illustration are principal responses to the Rokeach dogmatism items as predictors, and school bureaucratization as the criterion. The dogmatism-bureaucratization relationship is analyzed by means of this grouping technique. The results are contrasted with those using the more usual techniques of summing and factor analysis, and are shown to lead to very different conclusions. The merits, assumptions, and potential generalizability of this grouping technique are discussed.     

CoRE: A conceptual model for incorporating conflict resolution into teacher education

Abstract

School districts throughout the United States have responded in different ways to recent acts of violence. Responses vary from external security measures, which include metal detectors, see‐through backpacks, and fences, to programs that train teachers and students to recognize potentially dangerous threats and behavior. Literature indicates that teacher education programs have generally failed to address this issue in preservice teacher education. The purpose of this article is to present a conceptual model for incorporating conflict resolution in preservice teacher education. The CoRE model offers teachers conflict resolution/ peer mediation skills in a four‐level approach: Foundational Knowledge, Integration, Contextual, and Implementation.